One in 100 American Adults in Jail or Prison: Report

At the start of 2008, 2, 319,258 adults were in American prisons or jails, or one in every 99.1, according to a report released by the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project.

Pew researchers worked on the report with the collaboration of correctional authorities and other prison researchers. They also obtained data from U.S. justice and census reports.

Last year, states spent more than $49 billion on corrections, up from $11 billion 20 years earlier, the report stated. While spending grew, the national recidivism rate is virtually unchanged.

Half of released inmates have returned to jail or prison within three years. Violent criminals and other serious offenders account for some growth. However many inmates are low-level offenders or people who have violated their probation or parole, the report states.

"For all the money spent on corrections today, there hasn't been a clear and convincing return for public safety," said Adam Gelb, director of the Public Safety Performance Project.

The report states more people are behind bars principally because of policy choices that are sending more lawbreakers to prison and, through popular "three-strikes" measures and other sentencing laws, extending prison stays for inmates.

Thirty-six of the nation's 50 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons saw populations rise in 2007. Texas surpassed California as the country's prison leader, although the prison population of both states declined last year.

The greatest growth came from Kentucky with a 12 percent surge. Ten other states grew at least 5 percent or greater.

Pew obtained information from the Association of State Correctional Administrators and the JFA Institute. The report also includes data from the U.S. Justice Department, National Association of State Budget Officers, and the U.S. Census Bureau.